April Message from Commissioner Aaronson

If you could fit the entire population of the world into a village consisting of 100 people, maintaining the proportions of all the people living on Earth, that village would consist of: 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 Americans from the Western Hemisphere (North, Central and South), and eight Africans. There would be 52 females and 48 males. There would be 30 Caucasians and 70 non-Caucasians. There would be 30 Christians and 70 non-Christians.

There would be 89 heterosexuals and 11 homosexuals. Six people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and they would all come from the United States. 80 would live in poverty. 70 would be illiterate. 50 would suffer from hunger and starvation. One would be dying. One would be being born. One, yes one, would have a university degree. One would own a computer. The need for acceptance and understanding would be obvious.

If you woke up this morning in good health, you have more luck than 1 million people who won’t live through the week. If you have never experienced the horror of war, the solitude of prison, the pain of torture, were not close to death from starvation, then you are better off than 500 million people. If you can go to your place of worship without fear that someone will assault or kill you, then you are luckier than 3 billion (that’s right) people.

If you have a full fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, you are wealthier than 75% of the world’s population. If you currently have money in the bank, in your wallet and a few coins in your purse, you are one of eight of the privileged few among the 100 people in the world. If your parents are still alive and still married, you’re a rare individual. If are reading this message, you’re extremely lucky because you are not one of the two billion people who can’t read.

Most of us have been taught to accept people as they are and to understand that people are different. We have been educated that history, cultures, climates, economics and religions all play a role in how a person looks at the world. However, sometimes we need to be reminded that the demographics of the world can be compared to the demographics of a village of 100. And so, WORK like you don’t need the money, LOVE like nobody has ever hurt you, DANCE like nobody is watching, SING like nobody is listening and LIVE as if this was paradise on Earth.